VERIZON PROFITING FROM NOTE 7 RECALL

[theOBNOXIOUSCHICK]

I posted this in the Samsung community forum.

I was a long - time customer of TMobile's going back to when they were Voicestream. Two years ago I switched to Verizon because after taking on the IPhone TMobile's once excellent customer service went completely downhill.
I haven't had any problems at all when dealing with customer service. So when some Samsung promotions came up I jumped on them. Like the $50 GearS2 watch & the Note 7 promotion. This is the first time I've ever gotten a phone immediately after release. Normally I'd wait & see as I do with most products but I love Samsung and was pretty confident that they manufacture great products. I even posted on FB about how awesome the Note 7 is.
  Then here comes this recall. I'm extremely impressed with the way Samsung is handling it. But am very disappointed with Verizon. By the way I see it, Samsung is footing the cost for this recall (or their business insurance is - who knows) so adding the $25 store credit or bill credit is covered by Samsung for the inconvenience of exchanging the device.
  The other day I received a message from Verizon stating they will honor exchanges for S7 & S7 Edge (no mention of the updated Note7 that's due in a few weeks) & give customers $25 towards accessories. I immediately sent feedback through app. Then I chatted with customer service. He was trying but I just wanted him to relay a message to superiors & note my account. The message "I WANT A $25 BILL CREDIT".
Verizon has a heavy markup on their accessories. I already purchased my case somewhere else. I don't need any accessories. What I need is a bill credit.
  By ensuring that customers spent their $25 on accessories it adds to their bottom line in the form of increased sales of accessories. They are making sure that the $25 stays with them ..... NOT IN THEIR CUSTOMERS POCKETS.
If they were smart they'd do the bill credit & tell people that if they wanted accessories like the wireless charger, they could put it on their bill & have the credit applied then.
So I'm posting this because I told Verizon I'd take to social media with this information.
The representative even said that Verizon's recall policy is "fresh" indicating they may change it. Hopefully enough customers will demand the bill credit & they'll change this "grab for profit" approach to the recall. I will just mention that AT&T has a good policy. On their website it says they'll let customers exchange with a temporary phone, then return it when the updated Note 7s come in. Not bad AT&T. I guess they don't want people who love the Note7 using the faulty ones at all.
This Samsung notes app is great for composing text first instead of sucking up my data by entering it directly into the forum through the Samsung+ app.  
Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful day.

Just gonna mention something. If Samsung sold 2.5 million Note 7 (not sure if that's accurate) and say Verizon sold 100,000 (just an example) & Verizon gets the $25 after people exchange that's $2.5 million for accessories sales.
#verizonwireless  #note7recall  #verizonprofitingfromrecall  #corporategreed

[KELFINK]

Agreed.  And not just the $25...they are stating that we will have to be charged a "restocking fee" if we return after 9/30.  So I'm being charged for Verizon to "restock" a phone that cannot possibly be resold?  Makes no sense.  And this deadline seems to deviate from Samsung's approach.  Especially for those, like myself, who want to wait it out for the new, fixed Note7's instead of settling for an S7 or S7E.  If I had wanted one of those models I would have purchased one many months ago.  Samsung is clear that new Note7's will be available but they don't have a date yet (they are shooting for next week from what I have been told by their customer service), but Verizon is pushing folks into another model because they are implementing this 9/30 deadline.  I switched from Sprint to Verizon when we purchased the Note7's and I've been very disappointed so far with their customer service. 

[rcschnoor]

Personally, I don't see what the problem is. It is STILL 22 days until Verizon's deadline. Seems it is a little early to be complaining, ESPECIALLY if Samsung is estimating beating that deadline by 2 weeks. No one is "forcing" you into a different phone. You are perfectly able to simply return the Note 7 in 22 days with no restock fee and simply wait for your new Note 7 IF Samsung misses its estimate by OVER 2 weeks.

Samsung gave an estimated date new Note 7's would be available. Verizon responded by giving you 2 weeks AFTER that date to exchange your phone. If Samsung changes their estimate, what is to keep Verizon from doing the same???? The way I see it, some people just like to complain. It is SAMSUNG'S mistake, NOT Verizon's. Your complaint is CURRENTLY baseless. Time will tell if it causes a problem. Until that time, it is simply a meaningless complaint.

[KELFINK]

Considering I was told by a Verizon employee on Tuesday that they may not even carry the Note7 once this recall is over, and even if they do carry it, it will likely be October before I could get one, I do believe my complaint is far from baseless.  I'm just going off of the information provided to me. 

[rcschnoor]

Considering it unlikely a Verizon store employee knows what will be in store next Friday, let alone by the end of September, it is still CURRENTLY a baseless complaint.

Furthermore, if, as you claim, you are worried about Verizon not even carrying the Note 7 any longer according to what that employee told you, why not just return the device NOW(or September 29 when OTHER providers have the replacement) and switch to another provider which is still carrying the device you want?

It sounds more like the employee is trying to pressure you into making a quick decision and switching devices instead of waiting to see what comes of the recall and replacement options.

Bottom line is it is STILL too early to tell what will happen, and Verizon store employees are no better informed than you are. Many are likely to be LESS informed, especially those who don't actually own a Note 7 and are closely following the developments.

KELFINK wrote:

I'm just going off of the information provided to me.

I assume that information includes Samsung's estimation that replacement devices will be available BEFORE September 30. Has Samsung made any statements insinuating that will be for all carriers EXCEPT Verizon????

[JWILLI00]

I totally agree with this response, I started reading the forums to see if anything had developed and the bellyaching is pretty tough to take.  The CS rep I talked to was holding on to her note, cautiously, until the new one's arrive just like the rest of us.  I am certain it will all work out in the end.

[pherson]

The bellyaching is beyond ridiculous and is a measure of first world problems.

They told me this, they told me that. Oh, this carrier is doing this, this carrier is do that. Unless u are that carriers customer you don't know specifically WHAT they are doing regardless of what your friend coworkers family told you. And just like with pricing wars with this recall its the same ole, our company will do this that and the other. Yeah right. No matter the company no one can do anything until Samsung figures it out and fixes it which takes TIME, not a couple of hours. Someone here said they were gonna sue Verizon over it, which is HILARIOUS. Sue them for what?! All this over a phone. Ridiculous and childish.

[Cejais]

The problem, and the reason for the complaints, is that every time someone talks to Verizon the reponses conflict but there are 2 consistent responses.  1. You have until Sept 30 to exchange (which currently means exchanging a  potentially faulty phone for another potentially faulty phone) And 2. Verizon claims they don't know when Samsung will deliver new phones but if its after Sept 30 then we have to pay a restocking fee.  Verizon is making it clear that safety of their customers is not their paramount concern, but money is.  Samsung is willing to replace every Note 7 made prior to the recall with a new Note 7 that is not a potential hazard, Verizon is only willing to replace with another dangerous phone or charge you for a replace based on thier own arbitrary timeline...  Not really difficult to understand

[KELFINK]

This, exactly.

I'm upset that I can't get consistent information between.  It's not about the lack of information/dates, it's the lack of consistency between Samsung/Verizon as well as different Verizon sales reps.  Also, the deadline of 9/30 implemented by Verizon, knowing full well that Note7's will likely not be in stock before then, just seems like a slimy way to get more $$ from their customers. 

[rcschnoor]

The main reason why your argument sounds silly is if you REALLY thought your phone was potentially dangerous, you would not STILL be using it. You would simply return it NOW. I would certainly NOT be using a phone I thought could blow up when holding next to my ear or even in my hands looking at the screen.

If you are so worried about your safety that you would use such a device for the next 3 weeks then you are not seriously worried about the safety of your device.

There is NOTHING keeping you from simply returning the phone NOW and then getting a replacement phone when the new devices with the improved batteries are available. There is nothing which says you have to get the replacement device when you return your current device. That is simply the way you WANT to do it, however if you do so and continue on after the supposed deadline that is what you will have to live with.

The fact remains that the Verizon deadline is STILL quite a ways off in the future. Samsung has stated the replacement devices should be available BEFORE that deadline. Until they are NOT available until after the deadline, we have no way of knowing IF Verizon would not actually extend that deadline if the phones are not actually available.

Until that deadline comes and goes AND you are so unconcerned about your own safety that you continue to use a potentially unsafe phone, THEN your complaints MAY hold some validity. Not as much, though, had you simply turned your phone in when you found out the potential danger your phone posed. Of course, you wouldn't have to worry about the restock fee then, anyway, and wouldn't have to pay the restock fee regardless.

[snugglesmacks2]

Many of us have tried to return or swap phones only to be turned away by Verizon corporate store employees.

[pherson]

You would not be turned away for returning a phone.

[snugglesmacks2]

Several people were turned away from returning without a restocking fee, or talked out of it. I personally have been turned away from swapping for the offered loaner twice now, and I'm not the only one. I was in the corporate store 2 days ago and was told that the issue was blown out of proportion and there was no reason to go through the hassle and I should hang on to my Note 7 until the new ones come in.

[pherson]

Ok.

[rcschnoor]

snugglesmacks2 wrote:

Several people were turned away from returning without a restocking fee, or talked out of it. I personally have been turned away from swapping for the offered loaner twice now, and I'm not the only one.

Were you turned away from "returning" it or were you turned away from "swapping" it? Those are 2 completely different things. If I have a life threatening device in my hands, they would certainly not "talk me out of" returning that device.

[Jd1010]

I'm a little confused by the use of the words "turned away." Do you mean you were persuaded to not swap your phone or return for a refund and chose to "turn away" from those options? Or do you mean that Verizon staff refused to complete one of those transactions?

Regardless, one thing has become very clear: Verizon is a huge company with serious internal communications challenges. There is no apparent uniformity as to how their customers are being treated, and that spans the range from very well/better than expected all the way to awful. Hopefully, this will clear up in a little more time.

[Jd1010]

I hope Samsung AND Verizon profit from this recall by way of selling cheaper refurbished N7's  a couple of months from now, thereby helping to broaden the appeal of this great phone so that a year or two from now, when I go to upgrade into a note 8 or 9, my phone has more value.

Why all this angst? Is your phone still providing you with good service? Is your provider still supplying a reliable  level of connectivity?  Are you paying more for all of that than you expected? Is the manufacturer of your phone acting responsibly? Are they backing up their claims of quality and reliability and superior technology?

Oh, I get it. It's taking too long!

Within 30 days Samsung will have released a new phone, shipped 2.4 million of them, recalled them,.and now will resupply the market with replacements at a corporate cost of billions. 30 days. Amazing..

I hope they do profit.

Respectfully submitted under the appellate rules of [removed]

Profanity removed as required by the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service​

Message edited by Verizon Moderator

[dstack1776]

My frustration is simply with the lack of consistent information. I have been told that:

• I will be able to swap for a new Note 7
• There is no guarantee they'll carry the new Note 7
• If I can swap I'll need to do it at a store with no guarantee of them having stock by Sept 30 after which I'll be subject to a restocking fee
• If I can swap they can guarantee I will not have to pay a restocking fee

If there was a consistent story then there would be a lot less frustration. i.e. "When new phones are made available to us they will be shipped out automatically unless you chose to trade it in. You will be informed of the shipment two days before it ships. All phones should be replaced by September 28. When you receive your replacement simply use the enclosed label to return your original phone."

[HIGSKIES]

I exchanged my Note 7 for a Note 5.  When the Note 7 is available again, I get to exchange at no extra charge.  I will not have a phone that may explode and injure or damage my family.  I can't wait for the new ones.

[theOBNOXIOUSCHICK]

THANK YOU VERIZON - they have updated the policy. It now states that the $25 credit can be used towards accessories OR as a bill credit. It appears as a text in the message sent about the 9/21 updated Note7 availability.

[brigetterad]

I never got the text about the credit. 😕  I definitely want the bill credit.